


Gravity

by LZlola



Category: The Flash (TV 2014), The Flash - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, CW Barry meets comics-verse Citizen Cold, Has nothing to do with the tv show's version of Flashpoint, I don't know how to explain the relationships in here, Len and Barry are idiots who can't deal with their feelings in every universe, Like Citizen Cold and Flashpoint Barry have an existing relationship, M/M, Mild Sexual Content, So when these two get together it's a complete mess, That they SWEAR is casual and means nothing, While our Barry is in denial over the extent of his feelings for our Len, references and spoilers for Flashpoint comics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-30
Updated: 2016-06-30
Packaged: 2018-07-19 01:57:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7339918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LZlola/pseuds/LZlola
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The differences are probably subtle to the untrained eye, but he knows Barry. And this is not his Barry. Citizen Cold/powerless Barry Allen Flashpoint AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Gravity

**Author's Note:**

> My knowledge of the comics is limited, but I couldn't get this idea out of my head. I tried to incorporate a few aspects of Citizen Cold’s story from the comics in here; however, in order for this story to happen at all, I’ve taken some liberties with some character details and the Flashpoint plot. Hopefully, this makes sense, but you can yell at me if it doesn't. This is my first fic in the Flash fandom, so feedback is appreciated.
> 
> Title is taken from the Sara Bareilles song.

This is not Barry Allen.

  
At least, not the one Leonard knows, the one he teases regularly at his desk job at the hospital and the one he casually spends his nights with when he’s not entertaining Central City’s most beautiful, and richest, women.

 

The first clue is the fact that this Barry comes in to Saints and Sinners and seems to actually look for him.

 

Leonard tries to keep a low profile here. Doesn’t want any of his precious Central City admirers to get any ideas that he is anything but their beloved hero. But this Barry doesn’t seem to have any qualms about Central City’s beloved Citizen Cold being in this rundown place of establishment.

 

This Barry finds Leonard in the back of a corner booth, behind the bar and away from the commotion of other patrons, and instead of bouncing on the balls of his feet, eagerly waiting for Leonard to invite him like his Barry would, this Barry sits down across from him and invites himself.

 

* * *

 

Leonard reaches for the trigger of his gun, ready to strike if necessary, but stills upon seeing the kid in front of him.

 

Everything looks the same physically. The same scrawny build, same mussed-up hair, every goddamn mole looks in place even.

 

He looks harmless.

 

So Leonard waits for him to make the first move, studies him as he rubs the back of his neck twice and tugs on his collar once before opening his mouth.

 

He addresses him as Snart.

 

Not Citizen Cold, not Cold, not Leonard.

 

Snart.

 

Leonard doesn’t remember a time when Barry greeted him by his last name.

 

He runs down through a list of possibilities in his head - of a new metahuman with shapeshifting abilities in town or of a new enemy straight out of the government’s laboratories.

 

But if either one of them had done their research, surely he’d know something as simple as how to greet him. And surely he wouldn’t look so goddamn nervous right now.

 

He needs time to gather all the pieces, figure out what this imposter wants. What this imposter wants with _him_.

 

He needs to play it cool.

 

So he lays his drawl on extra thick, lets his eyes roam a little just to see if it gets the same flush out of him as it does for his Barry - he’s pleased it still does - and tilts his head like this man in front of him is the most fascinating thing in the world - which isn’t a problem because he quite possibly is.

 

“Hello, Barry.”

 

And this must satisfy whatever this kid’s looking for, because then the kid leans forward slightly and smiles.

 

* * *

 

He wants a shot of whiskey.

 

That’s the next giveaway that something is off.

 

When Leonard motions to a waitress for another beer for himself and some seltzer for Barry, he’s surprised to feel a hand - gentle, warm, he thinks - on his wrist stopping him before he can get the entire order out.

 

“You never drink.” Leonard says, as the waitress walks away.

 

“I haven’t had it in a while and I need it.”

 

Leonard raises his eyebrows.

 

The man can only shrug, but there’s bitterness and contempt in his voice that can only be found in people that have been through the wringer a few times over.

 

“I’m surprised to see you here, Barry,” Leonard begins, drumming his fingers on the edge of the table.

 

The imposter quirks his head in question and it's obvious that this kid's finding it difficult trying to keep quiet and risk revealing more information than he should.

 

His reactions don’t exactly line up with those of evil metahumans, and they’re not exactly indicative of evildoers in general.

 

Leonard leans across the table, stopping a few inches from him, too close to be construed as anything but lecherous. “We usually meet a lot later than this,” Leonard smirks in a hushed tone.

 

He’s met with a wide-eyed look at the implication, but this Barry doesn’t seem to retreat.

 

Interesting.

 

He wonders what this kid is up to, why beneath the tiredness and sadness, his eyes convey a sense of trust, a sense of relief, even though Leonard’s certain that he’s never met this man before.

 

The waitress comes back with their drinks and Leonard watches the man in front of him down his in one go before he formulates a response.

 

“Well, I guess I'm early then.”

 

* * *

 

“What are you doing here, Barry?” Leonard asks casually, pretending to be interested in the female walking into the bar.

 

He's not, but appearances are important.

 

“I still can’t believe that you know me here,” he murmurs.

 

Leonard waits for him to start making some sense, but he doesn’t elaborate on that statement any further. Instead, he gnaws on his lip and stares at his hands, and god, it looks so much like his Barry.

 

“I messed up,” he admits in a whisper.

 

Again, the kid doesn’t elaborate.

 

Leonard’s getting a bit antsy at this whole situation. This isn’t Barry. He may look like it and he may sound like it, but this isn’t the same dork he saw fawning over some tiny dog in the park last week. To be clear, whatever he has going on with Barry Allen is completely casual - Leonard makes sure of it...but Leonard prides himself on knowing who he’s sleeping with at least, which is the only reason why he gives in.

 

“What do you want?” Leonard tries not to sound suspicious, tries to say it as evenly as possible.

 

The imposter doesn’t say anything for a minute, but the desperate, broken plea that follows - one Leonard knows too well - eases his doubts.

 

“I just don’t want to feel alone.”

 

And when he turns back to gaze into this Barry’s eyes, honest and pure, his questions get pushed down his throat and Leonard offers him the only thing he knows how.

 

“Let me buy you another drink.”

 

* * *

 

They don’t talk. This Barry doesn’t seem incredibly chatty at the moment, and that's fine with Leonard - people-watching is something he’s always been quite fond of.

 

But after the third drink, the atmosphere seems to shift when Barry brings all of his focus on him. The man’s eyes are darker than before and when his eyes flicker towards Leonard’s lips, suddenly, Leonard’s not content with just staring.

 

The kid doesn’t protest when Leonard places a hand on his knee underneath the table, doesn't make a sound as it travels up his thigh.

 

Leonard leans in close, puts his lips against his ear, and in a voice, low and full of promise, he purrs, “Let’s get out of here.”

 

* * *

 

Leonard won’t deny it - the awe in Barry’s face at the sight of his luxury condo makes him preen a bit.

 

“For real?” Barry exclaims incredulously. “You have a fountain in your living area?”

 

Leonard probably would have gotten a good laugh out of this...if it weren’t the exact same thing his Barry said when he showed it to him the first time.

 

Maybe some sort of head trauma explained this all? Selective amnesia, perhaps?

 

Leonard doesn’t have a chance to dwell on that though because Barry snaps him out of his thoughts.

 

“I guess being a hero does pay well, huh Snart?”

 

The kid frowns afterwards as if it were a questionable thing to say, but Leonard just hmms in agreement as he drops his keys on the table and shrugs off his parka.

 

He needs this to be quick and meaningless. He can’t let whatever this fucked up situation is ruin a perfectly valid offer of sex from a man who looks like _that_. Call him whatever; he’s got needs and whoever this man may be is willing to give it to him.

 

“You know…” this Barry starts before Leonard has a chance to prey on him. The kid starts fidgeting with his hands again. “It’s- It’s nice...that you’re a hero and all.”

 

Leonard sighs. He doesn’t have the heart to tell him the truth, never had it with his Barry either.

 

But the way this Barry’s looking at him, for whatever reason, makes him feel the need to offer him _something_.

 

Leonard swallows. “It’s Leonard, by the way.”

 

The kid looks at him, a little surprised, and an unspoken understanding passes between them.

 

They’ve just acknowledged that this is all a lie. That this is all wrong.

 

But they find themselves drawn towards each other anyway, looking for salvation or damnation - he doesn’t know which, until their lips are on each other.

 

* * *

 

This Barry doesn’t pause at the scars on his chest.

 

Instead, he traces along them in absolute wonder, edge to edge, mapping them out like constellations.

 

It’s so unexpectedly sexy and intimate at the same time that Leonard struggles to find his voice at first.

 

“Are you sure about this?” Leonard asks.

 

“Yes," he breathes.

 

It sounds like a confession.

 

* * *

 

He doesn’t giggle when Leonard kisses his ear and doesn’t whine when he tries to retrieve lube or a condom like his Barry, but he still moans when he sucks on that particular spot on his neck, still shudders when he trails down his torso and still grips his shoulders as if he’s afraid he’ll disappear too soon.

 

He ignores the wetness in the kid's eyes and instead pins his hands above his head and thrusts into him harder.

 

Because it’s not what this Barry needs.

 

And Leonard always takes what he wants.

 

* * *

 

It’s quick and dirty and just the way Leonard likes it to be.

 

When the kid comes, his hips jerk and his entire body stutters as a string of curses accompany all sorts of variations of his name until Leonard’s right there over the edge with him.

 

But for the first time tonight, his eyes are void of the pain and self-loathing that’s been haunting him all night.

 

Deep emerald eyes, bright and brilliant, stare back at him as if he's known him forever, as if he’s a goddamn miracle and...

 

…it’s beautiful.

 

* * *

 

He doesn’t try to cuddle with Leonard immediately, doesn’t try to close his eyes and relish in the moment.

 

Instead, he gets up to grab a towel from the bathroom and cleans the both of them up efficiently and silently before he settles back down next to Leonard.

 

With his elbows propped up, the kid turns to look Leonard in the eye.

 

“You probably have some questions.”

 

* * *

 

Leonard’s never been one for pillow talk, but he thinks he can make an exception this time. He’s got questions and it seems Barry is willing to provide some answers.

 

“So who are you exactly?”

 

“I’m still Barry, if that's what you're asking.”

 

“I’m not.” He figured some time ago that there was no way this Barry was a complete imposter. There were too many similarities, too many nuances in Barry's speech patterns and body language that a fake would never pick up on and execute.

 

Not to mention, with the way the kid moved his body and with the noises he made, it was pretty difficult to think about - or call out the name of - someone other than _Barry_.

 

“I’m not from this universe. I’m a speedster over there. I...sort of screwed up the timeline and got stuck here,” he explains.

 

“You’re the Flash?” he realizes, ignoring everything else in that statement.

 

Barry laughs at his surprise, but even though it sounds familiar like his Barry’s joyful laugh, it also feels like Leonard’s hearing it for the first time. “You’re seeing a cyborg trying to stop a war between a demigoddess and a guy who just sank half of a continent into the ocean on your 6 o'clock news. Is it that hard to believe that I can run really fast?”

 

Leonard notices that Barry looks happier and more comfortable than before. Leonard wants to say it's just the whiskey and sex, but the way he’s talking, the way his eyes are dancing, it reminds him so much of his Barry that Leonard thinks that maybe this much-too-precious-for-any-world Barry is the real Barry after all.

 

Whatever happened to this Barry, whatever he’s seeing right now in Leonard’s universe must be terrible to make a man who’s usually sunshine and puppies incarnated seek him out tonight.

 

“You’ve always just been Barry, the cute dork who scolds me after I scour through personal medical files after you explicitly tell me not to,” he sighs finally.

 

“Have you ever thought that he just turned a blind eye?” Barry grins. The huge smile takes Leonard’s breath away, just like the first time he saw it a few months ago at Jitter's on his own Barry Allen's face.

 

He doesn’t deserve this man, _any_ version of this man.

 

Leonard relaxes and smiles, genuinely for the first time that night. “Actually, all the time.”

 

* * *

 

Barry’s the one who insists on leaving.

 

Leonard fleetingly wonders if this feeling of being used is the same thing his Barry feels when Leonard pushes him out in the middle of the night.

 

“Wait,” Leonard stops him as Barry's hand is on the knob. “What- who am I in your world?” If he’s never going to see this Barry again, or possibly never exist anyway when this is all over, he might as well ask him.

 

He gets a shake of the head and a half smile. “You rob people and you shoot me with your cold gun when I try to stop you.”

 

“So I’m the villain,” he rephrases. It doesn't surprise Leonard at all, but for some reason, he feels something akin to disappointment in his chest.

 

Barry hesitates long enough to make Leonard question his response, “Sure.”

 

“And we still sleep together?”

  
“Well, no.” Barry looks down and blushes, and god, even if he is some bigshot superhero who seemingly has a very complicated relationship with his nemesis in another universe, he’s still really damn _cute_.

 

“Well, when you get back home, maybe you should shoot me with _your_ gun. If your Leonard is anything like me, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.”

 

Barry rolls his eyes at the joke, but smiles anyway. “Bye, Leonard.”

 

“Bye...Scarlet.”

 

* * *

 

He doesn’t see Barry for the next few days, probably because Barry’s avoiding any more life-altering mishaps with people he recognizes before he can get home, Leonard reasons.

 

But Leonard realizes that he kind of - inexplicably so, considering he doesn’t even know this version of Barry - misses him.

 

Their meeting was based on a lie.

 

It ended with the understanding that that’s all they could ever be anyway.

 

So what if Leonard finds it hard to get the image of this Barry’s smile out of his head? So what if just the mention of a drink makes him replay that entire night? So what if he feels like that night was the most honest he’s ever been?

 

He needs to push all of those thoughts and feelings down.

 

There’s a more urgent problem that he needs to attend to anyway.

 

* * *

 

Immediately after Leonard kills the Wally kid for not minding his own business, he feels a cool rush of air behind him and he readies his gun.

 

But it's only Barry.

 

Barry stares at Wally’s frozen body with a softness that makes it obvious that Wally was more than just some run-of-the-mill superhero to this Barry. When Barry looks up, tears are threatening to fall and his body is _literally_ vibrating.

 

Well, that certainly would have been a handy trick a few days ago.

 

It seems Barry’s powers are back and he’s probably figured out that Citizen Cold’s not as heroic as people claim him to be, neither of which is good news for Leonard.

 

Despite their previous, rather salacious, meeting, Leonard expects a fight, or at the very least, a strong condemnation, but he doesn’t get either.

 

Just a look of disappointment like Barry expected _more_ that cuts him more than it should.

 

“You’re better than this, Leonard.”

 

Leonard wants to tell him that he’s not. He wants to tell Barry that he’s basing his opinion on his own universe’s version of Leonard Snart, that he doesn’t know him, that he takes pride in manipulating people to get what he needs and last night was just him _taking._

 

But the words never come out.

 

“I got my speed back. I’m going back to my home. I need to fix...all of this.”

 

Barry doesn’t say anything else after that. Just speeds out of there with fucking lightning glowing in his eyes and more determination and strength than some scrawny kid with a sunglasses-wearing pet chihuahua has any right to.

 

This Barry looks like a hero.

 

* * *

 

In retrospect, it was his own damn fault. For underestimating the Pied Piper, for underestimating Iris West, for spending all his time thinking about a man from another universe who only graced Leonard with his presence for a couple of days.

 

That night, when Leonard realizes that his time is up, for once, he doesn’t count the number of seconds it takes from the time that Iris pulls the trigger to the time the cold blast reaches his heart. He doesn’t think about where his plan went wrong or how he could have covered his tracks better. He doesn’t even contemplate what hell has in store for someone like him.

 

Instead, he wonders if Barry ever makes it back home, if he ever tells his Leonard about everything that happened here in this universe, and if somewhere out there, there is a happy ending for him.

**Author's Note:**

> So I kept Citizen Cold’s ending the same and opted for an open ending for Barry and our Leonard (so he didn’t die with the Oculus). Originally, our Leonard was supposed to stay dead and this was supposed to be super depressing, but then I changed some scenes around. Anyway, thanks for reading.


End file.
